Sometimes students ask me about meditation. Why don’t we meditate in class? For me asana is meditation in action, teaching me constant mindfulness that I can try and carry into my day to day life. Sitting, silent meditation is simply too hard. I feel that Pranayama (Yogic breathing) is the answer. It teaches us how to use the breath to still the mind. Smooth subtle and controlled breathing is far easier to master than the mind. Certain asanas can help prepare us for this. I introduce this breathing to students lying down with lots of support to open the chest. With practice the breath becomes smooth and steady and eventually so does the mind. Only then can we learn to withdraw the senses from external objects.
